We hope all of you are doing well. Several weeks ago we had a very heavy storm which originated as a cyclone on the coast. It came inland and caused a phenomenal rainfall and did severe flooding damage in a lot of areas. The stormed tamed down a lot by the time it reached Tzaneen, but we still had some branches off trees, etc.
We took a couple days off last week and went on our first outing with four other Senior Missionary Couples. We went to a place near a city called Hoedspruit, about 2 hours from here where a new member of our ward lives. They had invited us up for a real South African braai (barbeque) and had arranged for us to take a boat ride and spend the night in chalets on a game farm. This was also an area which was heavily damaged by the storm which we were able to see. Never the less we had a wonderful time.
This visit helped us appreciate the clean water we have in our city. It is strange how we don't think to be grateful for the wonderful, basic, good things in our lives until something stirs us up to a remembrance of how very wonderful they actually are.
As we drove into Hoedspuit on Wednesday, we stopped at a shopping center to use the restroom facilities. We found that the water was reddish-brown. We also found the same water in the chalets where we spent the night. It evidently has been that color since the destructive storms hit the area. It didn't really make us feel sanitary washing our hands in brown water. We were all very grateful that we had brought an adequate quantity of water with us for drinking and brushing our teeth, etc. during our outing. The people in the area are struggling to get an adequate supply of fresh clean water.
The area we visited is very mountainous, and is similar to the Grand Canyon, but has lots of green in addition to the red rock. The river was at the bottom of the canyon. When we were out on the water we could look up at the sheer cliffs. The guide pointed out some poisonous trees along the river bank. He said the native tribes used to get the poison for their spears and arrows from the leaves of those trees. They have a white milky substance in the leaf that is very deadly. One of the mountains had a waterfall coming off of it that resembles the face of a man and is called something like the crying man. We passed three high mountains that were a roundish shape with grass growing on the tops of them. They call them some name meaning the three huts. They kind of resemble the round thatch roofed houses of some of the native people.
He showed the area where the hippos come to deliver their babies and stay for a couple of weeks until moving back down the river. He had seen a couple of hippos that day before, but the hippos sensed the coming destructive storm and moved up into the higher grounds before the storm hit and are just now beginning to return. So, we didn't get to see any hippos or crocodiles on this trip, which was a disappointment.
After the boat ride we went to see a dam that had been built nearby on the river. It was a beautiful sight. We all walked down to it and walked along its top. Then we drove a ways further along the road and took a mile long hike to see a waterfall. It wasn't a difficult hike except for making our way over rocky areas in places and turned out to be well worth the effort. There is just something about sitting on the rocks at the base of a waterfall with your feet in the clear, cool water, looking at the pool at the fall's base and the beautiful greenery all about that is close to being heavenly. There was a rock skipping competition by some who had remembered it from their scouting days. Some of them could do it clear across the pool. We counted eight skips on a couple of them.
We went to the game reserve next and checked into our chalets. Each couple had their own. We were pretty tired and hot and some of us wanted showers. Again the water was brown so we decided to pass on the shower, but some of the people did take showers. The water was untreated and came directly from the lake.
The braai was very good. The night’s sleep was wonderful! And the shopping spree in the Curio shops and lunch at a real Italian restaurant made the day complete, particularly for the ladies. And, we got to top the trip off with the sighting of a beautiful giraffe on our drive back, right next to the road. We were driving along side of a game reserve, and there he was. The reserves have a very high fence with another electric fence on the inside. He was beautiful and majestic, larger than the ones we see in our zoo. We got a couple of good pictures.
Summers here in our area continue to be a combination of several very hot, muggy days followed by rains and then by downpours that cool it off enough for you to be comfortable again for a few days until the temperature once again climbs. We have been going through this cycle ever since we arrived.
We are continuing our “teaching the teachers” effort and are on our February rounds to visit all of them. Tomorrow we leave for a two day teaching in Mokopane and Polokwane. There will be about 6 hours driving time between the two days.
We continue to take our 45 minute-1 hour walks every morning and do a lot of teaching preparation. At night we study and then work on a puzzle or play a game, or read or relax-- sometimes alone and sometimes with our other senior couple who live downstairs.
Mom just got her second calling in the branch. She teaches gospel doctrine every other week at one branch and now helps out with primary every week with another group located about 15 miles away. This second group is also part of the same branch. I have been serving as branch finance clerk which is a pretty cushy job, mostly involving counting donations every week. We have attended two branches every Sunday since we got here.
No comments:
Post a Comment